Back in the Real World...

(Some context... From 1979 - 2004 my worklife involved significant amounts of travel via car or airplane.  Since 2004, except for a few trips for meetings or training, I've worked from a cubicle, or sometimes in a public wifi hotspot.)

During my current work hiatus, and being released (perhaps temporarily) from the bonds of cubicle life, I've had to reconnect with some of the technology about which one can say "I really don't need to worry about that..." when spending your workday in a cube.

Cell Phone (No driving and using the phone... parked phone use only)

• Ear buds with a microphone... may cut it for a taking an occasional conference call from outside the cube/office, but not for much else.
• Built-in Speakerphone... seriously lacking for anything beyond a brief hit and run call with the wife.
• One Phone/Number (...we cut the cord on the land line years ago!)... doesn't work well when trying to keep some separation between your regular personal business and job search-related activities. Also, I need to have a plain old backup phone number and voicemail now that I don't have a company-provided phone.

Laptop PC
Transporting your personal laptop around (packing and unpacking it several times a day) ain't a whole lot of fun and the machine itself takes a hell of a beating.  (Hello second laptop... or maybe even a tablet?)

So, in the words of Karl Malden touting American Express, "What will you do?... What will you do?"

 
What I did was to inexpensively get myself back to where I needed to be with with regard to some basic tech/work tools.

Visor-mounted Bluetooth Speaker for cell phone... I scrounged online for a Jabra model (probably a closeout) which solved my ear bud/microphone/speakerphone woes very nicely. A vast improvement in comfort and sound quality.

 

Tablet PC... A "work in progress" with some encouraging signs. I found an already inexpensive, refurbished Android OS-based e-reader whose software had been upgraded to make the it a low-level tablet. Its kinda sluggish and quirky, but functional enough to hold me until I take delivery of a HP TouchPad. (Side benefit: I now have some experience with the Android OS to go along with my Microsoft Windows, HP/Palm WebOS and a smidgen of Linux experience.)

Cell Phone... Picked a nice little QWERTY TracFone (with automatic free "double minutes") to use as the backup to my existing Palm Pre2 and for use in separating my job search phone activity from my personal phone activity.


Now, where did I put my Cyberguys catalog? I think I need some gadgets/accessories to go along with all of these new tools.

 

A Three-Fer Week

It was kinda hard to come up with just one item to post this week, so we have a rare three-fer for ya...

Panasonic says Toughbook Android tablet coming this year

"Panasonic’s Toughbook line is known for putting ruggedized notebook computers in the hands of field workers, first responders, emergency personnel, and other market segments were the ability to take more than casual bumps and knocks is of the utmost importance..."

I'm not sure about Android on a tablet -- I've been testing one for a few weeks and am not impressed -- but a ruggedized Toughbook tablet... Yes!



Power? Thanks, but I’d Rather Have Influence

"Early on, I learned that I’m better with influence than power. And, in fact, I’m not power-hungry...  I like being with interesting people and helping them become better and being part of the flow of ideas. And that’s a little bit uncomfortable, as a boss. It doesn’t make sense to people that the boss, who is kind of a figurehead and maybe a confidence-giving parent figure, just wants to be an experienced helper. As a person of authority, I’m kind of teacher-consultant more than wielder of power..."     

Another good interview from the Adam Bryant Corner Office column in the Sunday NY Times.


To Catch a Liar

"In business, there is no shortage of lies. People tell them at all levels — sometimes to seek a payoff and other times to avoid responsibility, some lying with guilt and others lying with a habitual delight..."

A thought-provoking blog post on the Harvard Business Review.